Using the Thai Vocabulary – Advice for Travelers

Using the Thai Vocabulary – Advice for Travelers

To the West, buying a simple English-Thai dictionary is simply not as straightforward as you might think. I lived in Thailand, I knew that many travelers are losing money to dictionaries that they simply can not use efficiently. If you can not read in Thai, then most of the English-language dictionaries are not useful to you . Why? Because the Thai equivalent of the English word is written in a Thai script and is therefore not known to the West. As a result, you can not use the dictionary independently, without being a Thai man who can read the word. It's a simple fact, but it often ignores it until it's too late when it has given up its money.

Many English-Thai dictionaries on the market can only be practical if you really can not read in Thai. Be careful to find a phonetic transcription as well. Simple English is the third element of the dictionary: English-Thai, Thai-English, and the exact and consistent transcription of Thai sounds for those who can not read the Thai alphabet. The same is true for other tonal languages, such as Vietnam or China, which scripts can not be recognized with the Western eye.

To speak the right Thai word for the first time, we need a phonetic equivalence of a Thai word, recognizable in Western characters. Secondly, you need a consistent tone that describes how to correctly pronounce the word with the appropriate Thai voice. Thanks to the tone of the tongue (the Thai five tone in the middle, low, high, down and up) could say the right word, but if you use the wrong tone, the word is completely different. Therefore, the opportunities faux pas are endless and have a lot of fun in the Thai community. Many of the times when the locals of the Thais looked at me when I announced that I had six horses (no six dogs) since the Thai word is the same for both – only the sounds differ. sound. eg. land hok – there are six dogs; my country hok – I have six horses; to mid tone – did not come. or is a negative form, or a new silk or . It's complicated, is not it?

It is even more dangerous glai,

that can be exactly the opposite, depending on the sound or far . You could do an expensive taxi if you asked the driver how much he was somewhere, he just misunderstood the answer!

This is just a few examples.

For a number of Western people, the right Thai sounds are often a problem, yet they learn to sing singly. In my experience, the most successful teaching languages ​​are musicians, as they are able to "hear the differences " and can pick up sounds much faster. It may be easier for most of us to distinguish high, low, and midrange sounds from others. However, after a while you develop a tongue and become easier, trust me! But I'm sure you're going to have some fun story during the journey!